Pull List Review: Fantastic Four #602 & Justice League #5

Here are some reviews from the comics I read from the fourth week of January.

Fantastic Four #602, “Forever”, part 3

By Jonathan Hickman (writer), Barry Kitson (artist), Paul Mounts (colorist), Clayton Cowles (letterer)

There are a few reasons why I liked this issue as much as I did. First, is Barry Kitson’s art, specifically of Sue. Second, I might be stretching Fair Use a bit with these images, but I dare you to defy the notion that Sue is one of the bad-ass superheroes in the Marvel U:

Sue01
Sue02
Sue03

I want to be married to Sue. :D

Justice League #5, “Justice League”, part 5

By Geoff Johns (writer), Jim Lee (penciller), Williams, Hope, Irwin & Weeks (inkers), Alex Sinclair with Gabe Eltaeb & Tony Avina (colorists), Patrick Brosseau (letterer)

It’s no secret that I have been loving this series, and this issue not only builds on what was good before, but also makes me go “what the hell”? First, however, there’s the battle between Green Lantern and Darkseid. I was hoping for more of a toe-to-toe between Superman and the Lord of Apokolips, but it was still an impressive, if one-sided battle; though that panel showing Darkseid punching Hal in the midsection seems as if it should have crippled or killed Hal, ring protection or no. What comes next, however, is what made this issue for me. After Darkseid breaks Hal’s ring arm and walks away, Hal still taunts the alien invader but is interrupted by Batman. They argue, with Batman the voice of reason (“You’re going to die.”) and Hal the take-no-prisoners bravado (“Then I die!”). Batman then proceeds to use his superpower of psychoanalysis (according to sarcastic Hal anyway) by comparing he and Hal, and that’s where things get really weird: Batman removes his mask! In the middle of a catastrophic fight, in the daytime, to a complete stranger. “My name is Bruce Wayne,” he proclaims (a bit too loudly, in my opinion), and then gives Hal his 10-second origin story as he starts to shed other portions of his batsuit. What kind of a Batman do we have now in the DCnU (at first five years ago)? I get that Bruce was trying to talk Hal down by humanizing himself, but to reveal his identity like that to someone he doesn’t even like (as evidenced in the previous issues) is either a Batman I have never seen before, or the beginnings of the shrewd and calculating Batman we’ve known for many years. It’s quite possible that Bruce figured the only way to reach this blowhard, but noble guy with a powerful, magic ring, was to stand revealed to him, to get him to listen to the man and not reject the Batman, to get Hal to do what Bruce wants–sounds familiar now, right? But for Bruce to expose himself like that is a new angle to me. What I still don’t get is why Bruce undressed as much as he did, especially before he goes to get Superman. Sure, take off the cowl to startle Hal, but keep it off, and take off the cape and his chest symbol? What does that get him, besides a little less protected as he fights parademons? Maybe I’m just reading too much into it.

The other comics I read from that week were: